The present invention relates to an hermaphrodite electrical connector, and in particular to one which is stronger, more secure, more inexpensively manufactured, more electrically effective, and more adaptable to foolproof use than prior known hermaphrodite connectors.
Devices for connecting two wires, and particularly two sets of pluralities of wires, have long been known. In general they comprise a pair of parts each carrying contact terminals to which the wires of a given set are connected. When the two parts are assembled to one another the contacts of one part engage the contacts of the other, thereby to make electrical connection therebetween and thus electrically connect the wires respectively associated with the contacts. Conventionally, these connectors have been formed of two dissimilar parts, and quite frequently one of those parts, generally designated the male part, is designed to telescope within the other, generally designated the female part. This type of connector suffers from the disadvantage that the two connector parts are differently constructed and therefore must be separately manufactured. Since different molds must be employed for the two different parts, and since two different parts must be kept in inventory by the manufacturer, this type of connector is relatively expensive to make. Moreover the user too must maintain a separate inventory of the two parts so that he can be prepared to replace whichever one of the parts it may be that breaks or malfunctions, and that is a source of additional cost.
As a result of these drawbacks, connectors have been designed which are composed of two substantially identical parts which, when associated, and with wires connected to each, will perform the same connective function as the conventional male and female type connectors. Because the parts of this latter type of connector are neither exclusively of the male type nor of the female type, they have been called hermaphrodite connectors. The use of hermaphrodite connectors avoids the disadvantages set forth above which inhere in the use of more conventional types of connectors.
However, the hermaphrodite connectors of the prior art have exhibited certain disadvantages which have restricted their utility. One of them has to do with the type of relative movement that is required to secure together the two connector sections. These connectors, it will be understood, are usually of the multiple type, designed to connect two sets of a plurality of wires each to one another, and it is essential that the first wire of each set be connected only to the first wire of the other set, and so on. In a given piece of equipment each of the pairs of wires to be connected to one another are identified and then operatively associated with the respective connector part. It is most convenient to place each connector part next to one another and pointed in the same direction and then connect the wires, provided in parallel pairs, thereto. This procedure is most conductive to rapid and accurate assembly of wires and connector parts respectively. However, this cannot be done in many of the hermaphrodite connectors of the prior art because if the parts of those connectors are associated next to one another and similarly oriented they cannot be operatively connected to one another until one connector section has not only been flipped over so as to point toward the other section but also rotated 180.degree. about the axis of insertion. With such a connector, when the sections are next to one another the wires of the first pair will be at the left-hand end of one connector part and at the right-hand end of the other connector part. However, if the connector parts are so designed that they can be connected to one another, after first being located next to one another, simply by a flip-flop type of movement, moving one part so that it points toward the other and then pushing the two parts together without any further rotation, each of the wires of the first set will be located at the same end of their respective connector parts, thus making for maximum security and ease in insuring electrical connection between only the proper wires. Hence it is very desirable to have an hermaphrodite electrical connector the parts of which can be connected simply by such a flip-flop movement.
It is desirable in any connector that the terminal contacts, particularly when they are in their operative position engaged with contacts in the other connector part, be protected as much as possible from adverse ambient conditions, such as moisture, corrosive media, dust and the like. It is further desirable, particularly where appreciable voltage levels may be involved, to effectively physically separate each engaging contact pair from the others so that no undesired electrical disadvantage will occur. It has proved to be quite difficult to accomplish this result with hermaphrodite connectors of the prior art because their construction did not lend themselves to the production of substantially unbroken compartments for each of the contact pairs.
While means are conventionally provided, both in male-female and hermaphrodite connectors, to secure the two connector parts in operative position, and while quite frequently means are provided to insure that the two parts can be connected only when they are in proper orientation, that is to say, with the left-hand side of one part opposite the left-hand side of the other part, the manipulation of those connecting means usually involve some inconvenience. In all types of connectors, but particularly in hermaphrodite connectors, where the two parts to be connected are substantially identical in construction, problems often arise when a given piece of equipment is provided with a plurality of such connectors as to which connector parts form the pair which is properly to be connected together. For example, if sixteen pairs of wires are to be connected to one another and if each connector will accommodate only eight sets of wires, one is presented with four identical hermaphroditic connector parts each having a set of eight wires connected thereto. Wire 1 of part 1 is to be connected only with wire 1 of part 2, and not to wire 1 of part 3 or part 4, yet if all the connectors are identical how is one to know which connector part is to be associated with which other connector part? Providing identification means on the individual parts is one answer, but not a sufficient answer, because it does not prevent against error by an unskilled or hasty technician. What is really required is some means to ensure that a given connector part is operably associated only with the proper other part. Connector parts may, of course, be specially designed for each individual application, but that is extremely costly. What is desired is an hermaphrodite connector construction adapted on a production basis to positively insure that only the proper pair of connector parts, among a plurality of such parts, are connected together, and that when that is done the proper wire of each such part can be connected only to the corresponding proper wire of the other such part.
Connectors of the type under discussion are generally formed of molded plastic, and this imposes limitations on how large such connectors may be made and how many sets of wires can be associated therewith while still having adequate strength. This is particularly a problem when, as in the type of connector here disclosed, the individual contact terminals are received in compartments, the open spaces of those compartments serving to weaken the connector housings and rendering them susceptible to breakage.
The specific structure of hermaphrodite connectors of the prior art have either not lent themselves to the solution of these problems or have tended toward resolving one or more of those problems only by means of costly constructions.
In addition, the connectors of the prior art, and in particular the hermaphrodite connectors, have been of such relatively complex constructions as to make the manufacture thereof difficult and costly. In particular, it must be remembered that the manufacturer of an hermaphrodite connector must make that connector in a plurality of sizes and patterns in order to accommodate the demands of his customers, and this has necessitated separate molds for each size and each pattern, greatly augmenting the cost of manufacture of a family of such connectors, and miltitating against their wide-spread manufacture and use.